Man charged in strangling death of gay man

A 23-year-old man has been charged with strangling his gay lover in a Queens motel, police said Thursday. The victim, Joseph Benzinger, 54, of Middle Village, was found with a shirt wrapped around his neck Saturday night in a room at the Crown Motor Inn on Queens Boulevard. Lleuyel Garcia of Manhattan was charged early Thursday with his murder and robbery. Benzinger and Garcia had a sexual relationship prior to the killing, cops said. A police source said Garcia stole the victim's wallet and cell phone and that detectives use cell phone records to track the suspect down. Garcia implicated himself in the crime by admitting he was at the motel, the source said.